Chapter One

I just finished reading the first chapter of The Sound and the Fury and it was just as difficult as my teacher had predicted. In fact, without my teacher's help I'm wouldn't have understood half of it. For those of you who haven't read this book, the reason this chapter is confusing is because it is told from the viewpoint of a seriously mentally ill character whose narrative is a mosh pit of different scenes from different points in time. There is no straightforward plot unless you put a lot of effort into piecing together the story. As for why Faulkner does this, I have no idea. He could be using this chapter to define the character Benjy; he could be using the confusion of the narrative to symbolize the confusion of the Compson family, with a hypochondriac mother, a mentally handicapped son, a rebellious daughter who becomes pregnant out of marriage, and many other odd and challenging characters; or perhaps Faulkner was just showing off his skill as an author. Regardless, I kinda hate that guy for making me struggle so much with 50 pages. Another aspect of this first chapter that my teacher brought attention to was the fact that Benjy is 33 years old during the main setting of the chapter, which is set on the day before Easter. This immediately turn Benjy into some sort of Christ figure, a concept supported by how much Benjy suffers at the hands of his "family". In my opinion, an opinion which has been heavily influenced by my teacher's prompt questions, Benjy is meant to be a symbol of that nostalgia for the past that characterizes his narrative. He is used by Faulkner as a critique on the immoral contemporary society. His suffering is meant to emphasize the need to return to fundamental values (chastity being the very notable example here). It is very likely that I'm entirely wrong in this speculation, but I hope you can see where I'm coming from at least. That'll be all for now children.